Justin David Hancock (born October 28, 1990) is an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

coach and former

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

, who is the current pitching coach of the Indiana State Syacamores. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

and in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido, Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō, in the Sapporo metropolitan area. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the major ...

Playing career

Amateur career

Before playing professionally, Hancock attended Tinora High School in

Defiance, Ohio Defiance is a city in Defiance County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 17,066 at the 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Auglaize and Maumee rivers about southwest of Toledo and northeast of For ...

. He then attended

Lincoln Trail College Lincoln Trail College is a public community college in Robinson, Illinois. The college was founded in 1969 and is a member of the Illinois Eastern Community Colleges organization. Academics The college offers career preparation programs and a t ...

, where he was named All-Great Rivers Athletic Conference in 2011. His

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

has been clocked at .

San Diego Padres

The

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

drafted Hancock in the ninth round, with the 293rd overall selection, of the

2011 Major League Baseball draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the firs ...

, and he signed for a bonus of $100,000. After going 0–3 with a 7.09

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in 11 games during his first pro campaign, Hancock posted a 3.30 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 28 games (16 starts) between the Low-A

Eugene Emeralds The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays ...

and Single-A

Fort Wayne TinCaps The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The TinCaps compete in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Parkview Field. The TinCaps won the ...

in 2012. In 2013, Hancock was 8–8 with a 3.38 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 26 starts split between Fort Wayne and the High-A

Lake Elsinore Storm The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team based in Lake Elsinore, California. The Storm compete in the California League as the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond, w ...

. While with Fort Wayne, he went 5–1 with a 1.73 and 44 strikeouts. In 2014, Hancock went 3–2 with a 3.92 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 15 games (14 starts) for the rookie-level

Arizona League Padres The Arizona Complex League Padres or ACL Padres are a Minor League Baseball team based in Peoria, Arizona. The Padres compete in the Arizona Complex League as a rookie-level affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Peor ...

and Double-A

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Missions compete in the Texas League as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Nelson W. W ...

. He was sent to pitch in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

following the 2014 campaign.

Chicago Cubs

On May 8, 2017, the Padres traded Hancock to the

in exchange for Matt Szczur. He spent the remainder of the year with the Double-A

Tennessee Smokies The Knoxville Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The team was based in Kodak, Tennessee, a Knoxville suburb, fr ...

and Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

. On May 9, 2018, Hancock was selected to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. In 10 appearances for the Cubs, he recorded a 1.46 ERA with 11 strikeouts across innings pitched. On November 30, Hancock was non-tendered by the Cubs and became a free agent.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

On December 5, 2018, Hancock signed a one-year contract with the

(NPB) for an estimated ¥70 million. In 8 appearances for the Fighters, he struggled to a 9.00 ERA with 8 strikeouts and 2 saves across 7 innings pitched. On October 11, 2019, Fighters announced that team had not re-signed Hancock for the following season. He became a free agent on October 18.

Coaching career

In July 2021, Hancock joined the

Indiana State Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified ...

baseball program as an assistant coach; in his role, he will work primarily with Sycamore pitchers.

Personal life

Hancock is married to Tessa, a former college women's basketball player.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hancock, Justin 1990 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Japan Arizona League Padres players Baseball players from Ohio Chicago Cubs players El Paso Chihuahuas players Eugene Emeralds players Fort Wayne TinCaps players Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players Indiana State Sycamores baseball coaches Iowa Cubs players Lake Elsinore Storm players Major League Baseball pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Sportspeople from Defiance, Ohio San Antonio Missions players Surprise Saguaros players Tennessee Smokies players Lincoln Trail Statesmen baseball players